Guadalupe
Guadalupe Island is a volcanic island located 241 kilometres off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and about 400 km southwest of the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California, in the Pacific Ocean.
The various volcanoes are extinct or dormant. In 2005 Guadalupe Island and its surrounding waters and islets were declared a biosphere reserve to restore its vegetation and to protect its population of marine mammals and birds. The island was a popular destination for great white shark cage diving before a tourism ban was put in place in 2022. Guadalupe Island is inhabited only by scientists, military personnel operating a weather station, and a small group of seasonal fishermen. The island is mostly arid and has very little surface water.
Getting to Guadalupe
This is one of the most challenging places to reach on Earth. However, there are options for getting to the island. The first is to get there on your own, with a boat or a plane. The other is to take the Guadalupe Sharks tour, but this tour does not go on the main island.
- 01Airport Isla Guadalupe
It has a 1,200 m (3,900 ft) long runway for private planes.
Worth seeing
Of course, besides the act of getting there, the main point of all that effort to get to the island is to look around. All of the island is dramatic, and you can really do sightseeing anywhere on Guadalupe Island.
- 01Campamento
Small camp on the southern end of the island.
- 02Campo Bosque
It was established as a temporary camp in 1999 in the cypress forest in the north.
- 03Campo Oeste
The main settlement with about 200 people, Oeste is a small community of abalone and lobster fishermen, on the western coast.
- 04Northeast Anchorage
A group of abandoned buildings near a canyon in the north of the island.
- 05Islote Adentro
Another barren islet, located near Roca del Skip and Church Rock.
- 06Islote Afuera
Things to do
On Guadalupe Island, there are no major events, and any exploration is self-guided unless a local is interested in showing you around the island. Hiking is the main thing to do on the island, along with fishing. For fishing, the best locations are in the towns, where there is a shoreline. Much of the coastline of the island has high cliffs, making any beach or shoreline activity impossible.
Where to eat
There are no restaurants on Guadalupe Island. Most of the locals live not far above subsistence level, and food is obtained through fishing at Campo Oeste. There used to be a lobster camp on the east of the island. When you go to the island, bring enough food with you to last the trip.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Phyrexian (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.